Diary of a Renegade Scrapbooker

i had a lovely day

i hope you did as well!

the day started out with some sunshine. but very quickly turned to rain. as usual! :)

i scrapbooked and wanted to share two of the layouts that i made.

see you soon!  

hello monday......

how was your weekend??? mine was boring. and rainy. but i did get a lot of scrapbooking done!

i am having some trouble adjusting to the "summer" here. summer starts in louisiana around april. it's really warm down there by now. usually i would have a pretty good tan going on. yet here, it's still rainy and chilly. no tan in site. i hope that changes soon. but i gotta admit...when it's a nice day here....it's really really nice. just beautiful. there might be a week of rain, then bam...a nice day. and that nice day is gorgeous. blue skies with mountains in view pretty much almost anywhere you drive. lake washington. it's worth it i guess. here are a few photos i have taken lately of the prettiness that spring brings here....

 

 

i love how colorful everything is here. and so much green! everything is so lush. pretty much year round. nice.

so scrapbooking....

a layout.

and a few of my favorite pages out of a mini book i made called "favorite photos"

 

 

   

 

 

you can see the entire album here.

i was wondering if y'all could give me a little feedback. since getting back into scrapbooking i see that the online community has died down a lot. sistv is gone. not a lot of places to hang out. share. learn. get inspired. i still have a strong urge to teach. i used to do small online classes. usually a mini book class with a kit put together by me. would that interest any of you? and if so what kind of classes would you be interested in? i have a lot of ideas floating around in this little head of mine and i am putting thoughts down on paper in hopes of coming up with a few good class and kit ideas. let me know what your thoughts are on that and the decline in the online scrapbooking community in general. 

     

ok peeps. i'm off to take care of shit on my to do list! have a simply pimptastic monday! lol! :)

why i scrapbook.......

that above layout.....that's why i scrapbook.

when i make something that is really, truly a part of myself....that to me is ART. some of my best work has been done when i have been struggling with something in life. when i am hurting, when i am going through something tough...it's almost instinct. i reach for the camera. the paper. the glue. i make something. something real. something tangible. my feelings and emotions documented on a page. ah. it's my own personal therapy. and that my friends, is why i scrapbook. i scrapbook for ME. 

the above layout is about my struggle with depression. the words are actually a poem i wrote. i journal. every single damn day. i fill up a composition book in about two weeks. i write poetry. i write random thoughts. and some of what i write turns into a scrapbook page. thus this poem.

depression is something that's almost taboo to talk about. there is this stigma attached to it. i know so many friends who deal with the same thing. yet they are afraid to talk about it. like it's a dirty word or something. i say bullshit! let's talk about it. and as women share our stories and struggles. an astonishing number of people in our country are dealing with depression. it's nothing new. it's almost the norm nowdays. which is something that intrigues me in and of itself. why? why so many people. but anyways.....i struggle with depression. and i am not ashamed of that. i am dealing with it. and this poem is about things that have been brought out during my therapy and in gaining a clearer understanding of what exactly this disease is and how to overcome it. 

i have never been a part of that "judgmental, look down your nose at others" clique. i have always been someone who tries to understand. i love meeting new people and hearing their stories. there is beauty in everyone's own personal story. and one of the best things about life, for me, is when someone opens up to me and really shares a part of themselves with me. i love connecting with others. i feel we are all the same. all struggling to make it in this life and what we all need is a little more understanding and a lot more LOVE!!!!!! so many people have emailed me in the past just to tell me that the little pieces of myself that i shared in my scrapbooking helped them in some way or another. and that's why i share what i make. to connect. to share my story. in the hopes that someone out there on the other side of the computer screen will relate. and will say........damn. i know exactly  what she is saying.

 

today feels like saturday.

for whatever reason i have felt off all day. feels like saturday. it's only wednesday. blah. 

sooooooooooo.........i don't know if all my blogging and scrapbooking friends know but we have been living in seattle for the last year. talk about a transition for my southern ass. it's been different. in a good way. new experiences are always good in some way or another. seattle, and washington state in general, is by FAR the most beautiful place i have ever seen or been to.

the drive here took six days and we went through 9 different states. each one becoming more beautiful along the way. you gotta understand....i had never seen a mountain in person until coming here. much less hills like this. or houses actually built on hills! it's been amazing. almost every day i drive on the freeway (yeah, they call them "freeways" here. back at home they are "interstates") and get to look at lake washington with the mountains and hills in the background. i have taken so many wonderful photographs since getting here and i wanted to share a few of my favorites.....

 

       
 

and yes, it really does rain a LOT here. but i find it quite suits me. it doesn't bother me at all.

 

it's just beautiful here. and the city is very very unique. i'm happy living here for now. but the possibility of moving closer to my parents is very real. we shall see what the future holds! :)

i have two layouts to share. and a peek of a mini book i made for a submission.

   
 i will show y'all the inside photos when i have a chance in a day or so. have a great day!

  
    

why hello there!!

where to begin???

it's been a while since i have blogged! i have been creating stuff like crazy of late and decided it was time to start blogging and sharing my work and such again. so here i am! :)

i have a LOT of stuff to share! so bookmark me and check back often in the next few weeks for updates. And all my blogging friends.....please leave a link to your blogs in your comments so that i can add them to my blogroll and stop in and say hi!

on to the art!!

 
 

a new butterfly print....i have found that i really love playing around with spray paint. fun stuff.

and a new mini book. these are just a few of my favorite pages. you can view the entire album here.

          

so that's it for this time. don't forget to leave me your blog address!

peace y'all!